The S&P 500 (^GSPC) is often seen as a benchmark for strong businesses, but that doesn’t mean every stock is worth owning. Some companies face significant challenges, whether it’s stagnating growth, heavy debt, or disruptive new competitors.
Even among blue-chip stocks, not all investments are created equal - which is why we built StockStory to help you navigate the market. That said, here are two S&P 500 stocks that could deliver good returns and one that could be in trouble.
One Stock to Sell:
Autodesk (ADSK)
Market Cap: $51.07 billion
Starting with AutoCAD in the 1980s and evolving into a comprehensive design ecosystem, Autodesk (NASDAQ: ADSK) provides software solutions for architecture, engineering, construction, manufacturing, and entertainment industries to design, simulate, and visualize projects.
Why Does ADSK Worry Us?
- 13.7% annual revenue growth over the last five years was slower than its software peers
- Competitive market means the company must spend more on sales and marketing to stand out even if the return on investment is low
- Operating margin failed to increase over the last year, indicating the company couldn’t optimize its expenses
Autodesk’s stock price of $241.50 implies a valuation ratio of 6.4x forward price-to-sales. Read our free research report to see why you should think twice about including ADSK in your portfolio.
Two Stocks to Watch:
Netflix (NFLX)
Market Cap: $409.8 billion
Launched by Reed Hastings as a DVD mail rental company until its famous pivot to streaming in 2007, Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX) is a pioneering streaming content platform.
Why Is NFLX on Our Radar?
- Global Streaming Paid Memberships are rising, meaning the company can increase revenue without incurring additional customer acquisition costs if it can cross-sell additional products and features
- Highly efficient business model is illustrated by its impressive 30.4% EBITDA margin, and its profits increased over the last few years as it scaled
- Free cash flow margin grew by 16.2 percentage points over the last few years, giving the company more chips to play with
Netflix is trading at $97.29 per share, or 26x forward EV/EBITDA. Is now the right time to buy? See for yourself in our in-depth research report, it’s free.
Amphenol (APH)
Market Cap: $185.7 billion
With over 90 years of connecting the world's technologies, Amphenol (NYSE: APH) designs and manufactures connectors, cables, sensors, and interconnect systems that enable electrical and electronic connections across virtually every industry.
Why Will APH Outperform?
- Annual revenue growth of 35.6% over the last two years was superb and indicates its market share increased during this cycle
- Performance over the past two years shows its incremental sales were extremely profitable, as its annual earnings per share growth of 49% outpaced its revenue gains
- Strong free cash flow margin of 15.7% enables it to reinvest or return capital consistently, and its growing cash flow gives it even more resources to deploy
At $151.15 per share, Amphenol trades at 33.8x forward P/E. Is now the time to initiate a position? Find out in our full research report, it’s free.
Stocks We Like Even More
ONE MORE THING: Top 5 Growth Stocks. The biggest stock winners almost always had one thing in common before they ran. Revenue growing like crazy. Meta. CrowdStrike. Broadcom. Our AI flagged all three. They returned 315%, 314%, and 455%, respectively.
Find out which 5 stocks it's flagging for this month — FREE. Get Our Top 5 Growth Stocks for Free HERE.
Stocks that made our list in 2020 include now familiar names such as Nvidia (+1,326% between June 2020 and June 2025) as well as under-the-radar businesses like the once-micro-cap company Kadant (+351% five-year return). Find your next big winner with StockStory today.
